"What…" The young woman looked up at Toranto; her voice was almost imperceptible. "Why you askin' that?" Partially shocked by the bluntness of her response, he remained silent for a moment.
"It was the only thing I could think to do." His voice trailed off to a whisper as he looked back down at the chains around his hands. In his mind, the conversation ended right there. He had failed yet again.
…
"Te'tania."
Toranto's ears perked up at the sound of her voice, his mind processing that she said something. He looked back over to her, surprised and somewhat confused.
"It's Te'tania."
"Oh, well, it's a pleasure. What about the rest of you folks?" Toranto looked over the rest of the people in the bay, wearing a tiny smile.
"Just call me Alexander; Te'tania's father."
"My name is Zenith Whislyn; it's a pleasure to meet you all."
"Name's Sorin."
Just like that, some of the tension between them was broken. Toranto smiled to himself as he looked among them. He looked back down at the chains around his wrists, releasing some of the tension he held within them.
"Got a name, dreadlocks?" Te'tania questioned, looking over at Toranto.
"Yeah, brother, you started this," Sorin added, half-chuckling.
"Oh right, it's…Toranto." He hesitated for a moment before giving his name to everyone.
"It's very nice to meet you, Toranto," Zenith said politely. Te'tania gave him a slight nod as well.
"So, what's everyone's story?" Everyone seemed to hesitate for a moment at Alexander's question. The bay remained silent for the next couple of minutes. They looked at each other, waiting for someone to speak. Eventually, someone would be brave enough to do so.
"I was taken from my home." Zenith was the first one to speak. "They said my cooperation would lead to my husband returning home sooner."
"Your husband is in the military?" Sorin seemed to perk up hearing Zenith's story.
"Yes, he's been gone for about four months now. I hope he's okay…" Zenith looked down as she fidgeted with what appeared to be her wedding ring. Sorin thought to himself for a moment before continuing the conversation.
"It could have something to do with the new protocol changes with the new government." Upon hearing this, Toranto's ears perked up.
"What do you mean?" He asked Sorin.
"I was in the military too. They discharged me since I didn't follow some of their…more recent orders." Sorin gritted his teeth through the last part of his sentence.
"That was only a few days ago. Today, soldiers at my front door. Said they'd take my mother and siblings if I didn't come with them." Sorin was now staring at the floor of the holding bay, beginning to clench his fists. Everyone wore faces of disgust at hearing Sorin and Zenith's stories. Sorin, however, quickly calmed himself. "What about you two?"
Te'tania remained still, slouched into her father's side. Her eyes were red and cracked; she opened her mouth, but no words came out. Alexander put his arm on her shoulder before finally breaking the silence.
"We were looking for food: me, her, and her mother. We were in the basement of this abandoned home until we heard footsteps from above us. We hid, but they found us. They forced us to give them everything we had and come with them. Said they'd kill us if we didn't comply. We gave them everything, but…" Alexander's voice caught in his throat.
Toranto noticed Te'tania closing her eyes, trying to suppress her tears. Some managed to break through, slowly flowing down her cheeks. Everyone else gave them the time they needed to compose themselves.
"They killed her anyway. We don't know why…" Alexander spoke through his tears. A man of his size with tears rolling down his face was a rare sight, one Toranto appreciated; it reminded him of his grandfather.
"Well, I'm happy you and your daughter are alive," Zenith said warmly. Alexander nodded and smiled at her in response. It was the first time he had smiled since meeting these people. He then put an arm around his daughter, giving her a reassuring smile and motioning for her to voice her feelings.
"I…It hurts a lot. It really does. But…" She took a deep breath, sat up, and looked at everyone else in the holding bay. "I know she'd want us to keep pushing through; she was tough like that."
Toranto admired how she spoke through her grief, almost like she outpaced it. He was sure she still felt an unbelievable amount of pain as he did, but for a moment, he wished he could present himself as strongly as Te'tania could.
Alexander patted her shoulders once more, a clear signal to her that he was proud of her for speaking through their pain. Zenith and Sorin smiled at the pair, clearly sharing the same admiration for them as Toranto did.
"And you, brother?" Sorin asked, looking at Toranto.
…
"Oh, um…" Toranto stared at him for a moment before looking at everyone else in the bay and fidgeting with his chains once again.
"The same as Alexander and Te'tania pretty much. I was looking for food in the basement of some house and heard soldiers coming in above me. I didn't hide, just waited for them to find me. I knocked them down with a gust of wind and tried to run. I got far but…not far enough away to avoid the bullets."
"They shot you??" Zenith asked frighteningly. Everyone else shared her surprise, all the while Sorin looked to be thinking as well.
"In my legs, yes. I passed out from the pain, but when I woke up, my legs were fine." Toranto responded.
"They healed you?" Sorin asked.
"They must have. I think they're taking us somewhere to work for them. Why else would they need my legs to be functional?" Feeling a little more comfortable discussing their current situation, Toranto pressed on with this line of thinking.
Te'tania looked over at him, momentarily, keeping her thoughts to herself for now.
"Agreed." In that moment, Sorin came to an eerie realization.
He looked outside the bay to gain a sense of direction before looking back down. The rest of them looked quietly at each other, all sharing the same concern about what Sorin had just realized.
"I think I know where they're taking us." Sorin's words came out dry, almost devoid of feeling. "It's one of those sites they were building on the outskirts of the country. They framed them as immigration sites for those crossing the border. But their explanation for needing them never made sense to me…" He trailed off.
"Um, what never made sense, if I may ask?" Zenith said politely, although her voice shook a little as she spoke.
"I remember overhearing plans for what sounded like production lines. Manufacturing clothes, food, and ammunition. What kind of immigration site needs that? I think Toranto is right; we're being sent to a labor camp." The words practically hit the floor as they came out of his mouth.
…
Everyone sat in silence for a moment, thinking to themselves. Zenith fidgeted with her wedding ring once again, thinking of her husband and praying for his and their safety. Sorin held an expression of contempt, like he had been personally betrayed. He tried to calm himself by thinking of the safety of his mother and younger siblings. Te'tania continued leaning on Alexander, as he held a hand around her shoulder to comfort her.
All the while, Toranto began to zone out. He stared at the floor of the holding bay, gripping his left wrist cuff with his right hand, and began to squeeze. As the minutes went by, small cracks in the cuffs slowly formed, and some of his nails began to dig into his skin. Small drops of blood began to run down his skin, along his fur, and onto the floor of the holding bay beneath him. He never once winced from the pain.
Te'tania looked over at him, noticing the state he was in. She slowly placed her left hand on his right, immediately knocking him out of his trance. He looked over at her, loosening his grip and relieving some of the pain. She looked into his eyes for a moment while moving his hand away. Her face was calm yet stern. Toranto began to realize what she was telling him and nodded to her; then, she let his hand go.
At that moment, the truck came to a stop, and they were suddenly in front of a small, fenced-in facility. The soldiers got out of the truck and opened the holding bay. "Once we set you loose, you join the line at the front of the main building. You try to run, you die." One of them said, climbing onto the back of the holding bay.
He walked over to Sorin and released him first, then Zenith. They both walked to the back of the line as instructed. Alexander and Te'tania were next, but as they walked out, Toranto noticed something striking about Te'tania: she was missing her right arm. His eyes widened for a moment, before the soldier came to release him as well.
He joined them at the back of the line, where they stood in front of the main entrance. He looked around, noticing the few soldiers surveying the area. At the front of the line, guards stood, and one among them seemed to be of higher status. His ears allowed him to listen in on what was happening at the front; he began to pay close attention to everything.
"He's good. She's good. This one's…" The man stopped speaking for a moment, looking closely at the frail denom who stood in front of him. He was visibly weak, in shackles, and clearly dehydrated.
"He's not fit. Take him." The man said coldly. Two soldiers then took the man to one of the far sides of the facility, far out of eyeshot. The line continued moving; the man continued inspecting, but just then a loud gunshot rang out from behind the facility. Toranto could hear it far better than anyone else.
They killed him.
The group tensed up, continuing to follow the soldier's orders lest they succumb to the same fate. They walked forward, trying not to do anything that would get them killed. Soon, they were all inside the facility.